ENDEIT

Standards · 1938

This Can't Be Love chords & key

Richard Rodgers · Lyrics: Lorenz Hart

Key
F major
Form
AABA
Bars
32
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4
Year
1938

“This Can't Be Love” is a jazz standard by Richard Rodgers from 1938. It is usually played in F major as a medium swing, and the 32-bar AABA form has 4 sections. Harmonically it contains 4 major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 11 different chords and moves between the key centres F major, D minor and G minor. In this atlas it appears on 5 album tracks and in 1 transcribed solo.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — F major

A
Fmaj7
Fmaj7
B♭7
B♭7
Fmaj7
Dm7
Gm7
C7
A
Fmaj7
Fmaj7
B♭7
B♭7
Am7Dm7
Gm7C7
F6
F6
B
Em7
A7
Dm7
Dm7
Am7♭5
D7♭9
Gm7
C7
A
Fmaj7
Fmaj7
B♭7
B♭7
Am7Dm7
Gm7C7
F6
F6

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

4Major ii–V–I
2Minor ii–V–i
6ii–V moves
2Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
11Different chords

Most used chords

  • Fmaj7×7
  • B♭7×6
  • Dm7×5
  • Gm7×4
  • C7×4
  • F6×4

Key centres reached by ii–V

F major, D minor and G minor

Characteristics

  • AABA song form

History

"This Can't Be Love" is a show tune and a popular song from the 1938 Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse when it was sung by Eddie Albert and Marcy Westcott. The lyrics poke fun at the common depiction of love in popular songs as a host of malignant symptoms, saying, "This can't be love because I feel so well." The song was a hit for the orchestras of Horace Heidt (vocal by Larry Cotton) and Benny Goodman (vocal by Martha Tilton) in late 1938 and early 1939.

Read the full article on Wikipedia ↗ · From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recorded on these albums

1953 Sings for Two in Love
Nat ‘King’ Cole · “This Can’t Be Love”
1954 Oscar Peterson Plays Richard Rodgers
Oscar Peterson
1956 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book
Ella Fitzgerald · “This Can’t Be Love”
1959 Oscar Peterson Plays the Richard Rodgers Songbook
Oscar Peterson
1976 Tony Bennett Sings 10 Rodgers & Hart Songs
Tony Bennett

Transcribed solos on This Can't Be Love

Gerry Mulligan baritone saxophone 269 BPM Ab-maj 1957-10-12

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • This Can't Be Love Red Norvo Trio · Red Norvo · Ted Farlow · Charles Mingus · Rodgers ·… · 1951 archive.org ↗
  • THIS CAN'T BE LOVE The Gene Krupa Trio · Gene Krupa · Eddie Shu · Teddy Napoleon ·… · 1954 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
I've Got The World On A String 23% Harold Arlen F major AABA · 32 Medium swing
Oh, Lady Be Good 23% George Gershwin G major AABA · 32 Medium-up swing
Teach Me Tonight 23% Gene DePaul E♭ major AABA · 32 Slow swing
I Wish I Were In Love Again 22% Richard Rodgers G major AABA · 32 Medium swing
I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face 22% Frederick Loewe E♭ major AB · 20 Ballad
A Certain Smile 21% Fain-Webster F major ABAC · 32 Medium swing
I Got Rhythm 21% George Gershwin B♭ major AABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
I Want To Be Happy 20% Vincent Youmans C major AABA · 32 Medium-up swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is This Can't Be Love in?

This Can't Be Love is usually played in F major. For B♭ instruments that is G major, for E♭ instruments D major.

Who wrote This Can't Be Love?

This Can't Be Love was written by Richard Rodgers (1938).

What is the form of This Can't Be Love?

This Can't Be Love has 4 sections (AABA) with 32 bars in total.

How fast is This Can't Be Love played?

The usual groove is Medium swing. Transcribed solos in our data were played at 269 BPM.

What are the chord changes to This Can't Be Love?

The opening bars are Fmaj7 | Fmaj7 | Bb7 | Bb7. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.